Tag Archives: love

MY , HOW Time Flies …

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

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How the years roll. Growing up in my home was full of traditions. Their was a lot of joy in living. We lived very big in a little way. For example fresh off of our Christmas celebration we rolled on into New Year’s celebration back in the day it was a packed house with family, grandparents and a few of my parents friends. In later years some of my siblings and my friends would drop in too. My mother was always thrilled to see them and feed them as well. 🙂

Guy Lombardo was on television with his New Year’s Eve celebration. And all of the food, my mom made the best chicken wings. About 5 minutes before midnight and the countdown with the ball drop mom would crack open the cold duck champagne . Lol and e even us kiddies got a little sip.

I remember tears just before midnight as we were leaving  the loved ones who had passed before us that year and were never to see the new year. But tears were wiped away and joy filled the room as we ran around, shook hands and kissed cheeks.

They were wonderful days , my wife and I have tried to continue that tradition with our family too. After all, that’s what life is about love and connection.

So for my mom and grand parents and to all of your loved ones too that have passed. Looking back with your heart and remembering is always a good thing to do on the night .  So, this year as we come even closer to ushering in the New Year remember to bring your loved ones and friends forward with you 🙂 Take them with you in your heart. They are still with us.:)

Guy Lombardo Tribute.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=aHKCPorcBvk

Guy Lombardo’ s last News Years Eve celebration back in 1977.

This was what was on back in the day. It is very different than what is on the tv now.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=pL60HdslvOk

Epic Auld Lang Dune

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Q-ncPPArxEk

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=aSq1cez_flQ

God Bless You,

Danny

Two Weekends Ago, NY Wrap Up.

29 Monday Dec 2014

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Today’s writing will wrap up my New York experience. If you remember a few days ago I covered part two of my families visit to see our friends P , H and family.

Let me state for the record that the absolute best part of the visit was just being with our friends and  seeing their eldest son E and his lovely fiance.

Our New York trip was years in the making. H and P have asked us to come for years to stay and visit and for one reason or another it never happened.

This time, I was determined to get there no matter what came up. As I got ready to go anxiety was building around my ability to get there and keep pace.

My wife said we need to take your transport chair and of  course I said no. I can do it! Well I spoke to P and told him that I did not need it . P  said you better bring it just in case. So, it came and went under the bus to NY. I had many different emotional thoughts while I was away. They ranged from blissful peace to feeling like a pain in the neck. Having me out of my element in NY made me needy. Not that  I would ever want to be that to anyone  but that is what I felt that I became. It took a lot of time, energy, and money on H and P’ s part to make out visit possible.

 

They refused our offer to pay repeatedly. WHY?

They were not grandstanding that’s for sure. They were being who they have always been Jesus to their friends. H. And P SAW a need and did what God wanted them to do. Having us visit and pushing me around for two days was an act of love. One that I /we will never forget.

We all shared some beautiful memories while we were visiting . I also had a few times where I felt deeply embarrassed by  the  confusion that I feel that I caused.

Some people don’t see a physically challenged or handicapped person  with a whole lot of compassion. We are frankly in their way. I saw it first hand many times over the last 3 years but NY, took the cake. Not everyone in NY was bad but because of the amount of people there it felt like it was rudeness on steroids.

I won’t get into it now but I felt terrible for what my friends wife and kids witnessed. It was upsetting to see them feeling bad for me. And I just felt like a killjoy because of how much attention I needed.

God is teaching me so much through this life experience . I don’t have to like it, and I don’t as a matter of fact, I hate it.

But God expects me to take this handicapped experience and make something positive out of it. Just as you are called to do the same in your own lives.

So in closing, I am very grateful for a beautiful visit with my friends, I felt the weight of my human frailty in this moment and what it has done after being at home and resting with this situation is that I had to be woken up to see where I was truely at physically .

With my eyes wide open on my situation I have two options available to me . The first thing is to as they say,  hate on myself. The poor Danny strategy. That’s not acceptable.

The other option is to look at this as a temporary problem. One that I need to accept for the moment. My friends P and H and family saw the treatment that a handicapped person faces on a daily basis.They stood up for me and took on the offenders.  I found myself apologizing to everyone  for being there.

H and P  are wonderful people and New York is very lucky to have them both. Amen.

People who need people. Barbara Streisand.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=fPlQ6EtArSc

GOD BLESS You,

Danny 

Two weekends ago part 2 with two awesome friends.

27 Saturday Dec 2014

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Well, where to start? I guess where I left off on my writing on December 22 nd.

On  Friday  Dec 12 my wife and I along with  our two youngest children boarded a bus for the Big Apple . We rolled into China town NY where we were greeted by our friend P who helped collect our luggage and my transport chair. Our friends from my writing on DEC 22 are now living in Manhattan. P told us that H was home getting dinner prepared for us, that it would be a quiet night . They felt I would be tired and needed the rest. And, I did. It was nice just being with them , breaking bread and talking. It was a special time. They said that we should get some rest because they had a busy day planned for us on Saturday. P said that they had hired a car for the day to take us around so that I / We could enjoy the visit.

Well, Saturday morning came and we woke to the smell of pancakes and coffee. H. was doing her morning prayer and P had done them and was going to run the East river I guess it was. Breakfast ended and we showered got ready and off we went as we exited their building we saw the limo  waiting. I / WE were overwhelmed. You see, they realized what I did not understand. I could no longer do NY in my current physical body. I get tired and phytigued pretty quickly. Stamina is building back slowly. P and H were also concerned about my welfare with the NY crowd they are indeed fast paced, impatient and like many places are not handicapped friendly. I would have been knocked over for sure.

We all got into the car and off we went all over the city. My kids and wife jumped in and out of the car  in China town and H showed the kids how to bartar the prices. Lol.

I was content sitting in the car watching them run around from store to store. P and I just talked, It was great just being with my friend.

You see, my friends from NY when they heard of my illness treated their 4-5 hour car trip from NY to see me here like no big deal. They have bent over backwards to be a light in our life. P would come up alone and take me out to lunch. He just sat with me to allow me to talk. He and H. are angels to us a gift from God. Amen.

We had lunch at a beautiful restaurant and then off to F.A.O Swartz to check it out . My kids  wanted to see and play their huge foot piano from the movie Big with Tom Hanks 🙂 .

P. Pushed me everywhere in my transport chair, we went to the Empire State Building and had a wonderful time.

We went after that to probably one of the finest steak  houses that I had ever been to and had dinner there as well. Next we were off to see a Night on the town a wonderful play on Broadway. It was very good, I told my family when we got home the set, the sound and the lighting tricked the mind you felt like you were watching a television show it was so clear on stage.

Finally back to the car and we made our way to Times Square . It was packed beyond belief we got out and I got into the transport chair and off we went into the crush of people to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. I had H in front of me, with her hand pulling my transport chair meanwhile P was behind my chair pushing and protecting , me , my wife was to my side as were my kids. H. Yelled, hold your bags to my wife and girls this is what they want, they’ll rob you.  With that my wife heard a noise and turned around. A young lady was almost robbed and turned around and pushed a man onto the concrete.

Perhaps H’ s yell and warning to my wife and daughters to watch out for pick pocketers  helped to heighten the young lady behind my wife’s awareness just in the nick of time to keep her from being robbed.  Only God knows.

We headed home and relaxed.H and P’ s home was beautiful like them, stylish not over done or fussy. They have a beautiful city view and you look at the new freedom tower.

The next morning Sunday we woke up Helen made breakfast once again and we were off to their home parish where P. serves as a Deacon. It is a beautiful old church. The mass was beautiful and I met a couple of the women who were praying for me during my battle so how cool is that! I got to hug them and thank them. 🙂

We then went to little Italy for lunch which was amazing and before we knew it we were getting on the bus bound for Boston.

I will conclude my writing on this soon.

The song below may feel heavy but it is not to me. It touches my heart and soul on different levels. Based on my diagnosis 3 years ago it was pretty much expected for me to leave this world. But praise God on Christmas night I drove over to Arlington with my wife and kids In my new, used giloppy 🙂  It was wonderful to drive, it was even better to see my dad and family. Another Christmas  Miracle. God’s doing it his way. Amen.

We are so grateful to God for our lives, family, and friends and thankyou for all of your prayers.

And, thankyou P and H for the hospitality and sacrafice in so many ways afforded us during our NY visit.

Michael W. Smith

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=I2uIIJathUI

God Bless You,

Danny

 

Glen Beck where is God ?

26 Friday Dec 2014

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I received this on Christmas Day and thought I would share

It is a good read.

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December 25, 2014
A letter from Glenn:

Hello Everyone,

In the family torn apart by addiction, in the midst of tragedy, financial ruin, joblessness, loneliness, depression, sickness and any other inevitable heartache life brings, one question is asked more than any other: where is God?

The angry, sad, hurt, frustrated heart cries out: How can you just sit there, silently, and do nothing while the world burns? Where are you? It’s an understandable question. Anyone who mocks it or brushes it aside simply has yet to experience the heartache that brings them to their knees and compels their pleading, helpless eyes towards the heavens. But that time will come. It always comes. The old saying goes there’s only two things that are guaranteed in life: death & taxes. I’d like to amend that cliché and add suffering. Who among us has not experienced pain? It is an unrealistic expectation to sail through life without any trial or tribulation. No one in the history of planet earth has ever accomplished this feat, why should we expect to be the first?

Pain is an inevitable part of life, therefore we should not take lightly when someone is questioning God’s role in all of this. So how does God factor into all of this?

Many are putting God on trial, claiming He’s done nothing, is an absentee father.

That’s a heavy indictment. I realize that God is quite capable of fashioning His own defense, nevertheless, please allow me to take a moment and present the alibi. I contend that despite the sadness and pain in the world, He is absolutely there, and He is absolutely doing something. More than just something, something miraculous.

It’s Christmas, and lost in all the presents and commercialism it is easy to lose sight of the significance of what the baby Jesus all wrapped up in a manger actually means. The King of the universe, the Creator of all things, the Author of life, the first and the last, actually humbled himself and took on flesh to dwell among us is something to behold. Angels filled the sky singing praises. He was called Immanuel, God with us.

Truly a miracle, but that was just the beginning of this story. The angels celebrated the arrival of the baby, but the reason we celebrate thousands of years later has less to do with the birth of the baby and everything to do with the death and resurrection of the man. After rising from the grave, what did Jesus tell His disciples? “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”

He is with us always. Jesus promised to leave behind a helper and did so with the Holy Spirt. We don’t need help creating our best lives now, be super happy and never experience pain. No, help was sent to help us complete the job. Before he left, Jesus commissioned us to go, make disciples, and teach them to obey everything I commanded.

Everything He commanded. There’s a lot of commands. Visit the orphan & widow in their distress, help the poor and needy, comfort those who mourn, and most importantly love the Lord with all your soul & love others as yourself.

See, we’re really good at loving ourselves. We know how to do that one without thinking about it. We’re selfish. We need help to turn our focus around and into a life of service, where others needs are put ahead of our own.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where God is. In all of us. How does the world know about God? When we love one another, they will see Him.

This week at the ranch I saw God.He was at the local food bank, picking up a bag of popcorn balls and bringing joy to others who (just like him) can’t afford every meal. He was wearing a red shirt, red sweat pants, and a homemade Santa beard he had made from yarn. He’s at the food bank every Saturday and has been doing so for 12 years. He is a simple man who knows how to give away pallets of joy as if it just grew on trees. He was doing all of this while taking care of an orphaned child as his own.

God IS with us.

He is there for the widow.

He is there for the orphan.

The lonely hearted.

The hungry.

The tired.

The lost.

The sick.

Nothing? Oh, God has done something amazing. He created you, and me and billions of other human beings, the imperfect agents of His will. Each of us with the opportunity to make it abundantly clear that God is truly with us until the end of the age.

We won’t be perfect, but we can give those in the midst of suffering a teeny tiny glimpse of the glory that awaits in the next life. We can prove that God does indeed exist, cares, and is absolutely present in every aspect of every precious life.

Be a miracle to someone this Christmas season.

God Bless,
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Juanita Bynum God is with us.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=D_PfZfScoYY

God Bless You,

Danny

CHRIST THE CHILD KING. Merry Christmas All.

25 Thursday Dec 2014

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Merry Christmas 🙂

May God Bless You always and may all your Christmas prayers be answered quickly AMEN. 🙂

07.O holy night – Trans-Siberian Orchestra with Michael Crawford from Phantom of the opera.   AmAzing !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRn6gsS2L8U

Hope was born this night

This day Christ was born.

This day Christ was born, by William Byrd (ca.1540-1623)

What Child is This – Lindsey Stirling

Bing Crosby & David Bowie – The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Live At The Helix In Dublin…

 

God Bless You,

Danny

two weekends ago. a story of love part one with two awesome friends.

22 Monday Dec 2014

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Two weekends ago my wife, myself and two of my four children journeyed to New York City to visits very dear friends.

I began writing about H and P a few writing ago and this is the song I used,

The carpenters Merry Christmas Darling

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=lV5ENWOQ6d8

My wife and I met our friends over 20 years ago and they are part of our foundation of faith. We met through our parish school and our families became friendly. Cook outs birthday parties for our kids etc. They were the most open armed people I had ever met. They were helping everybody all the time. Nothing was a big deal. They both worked together in a health care related business they co-founded with partners and grew it into a huge business and had I believe 15 offices and hundreds of employee’s.

I do not know all the facts of what happened to their business it was on the new york stock exchange too, if memory serves me. The laws in their industry regarding in home health providers changed drastically and they were not being compensated for services rendered to the patients they were helping. They fought in court I believe and in the meantime they felt an obligation to take care of their patients and employees so they guaranteed the company financially. That way the elderly and handicapped as well as their employees would be taken care of during the court process.

Well, the courts ruled and the new law stood. They were losing everything . But were they really ?  Absolutely not!

It was a painful and sad time for them their kids and all of their friends our hearts were broken as well. They had some friends who were there still and others that dissapeared too. Similar to my cancer situation.

But you see, God had something better in store. I will get to that shortly.

 

We watched their family home get taken apart, their home was sold and they found a new home that was in their new budget that was beautiful. It was even more beautiful because of them and the Spirit of God that resides with them.

At their old home back in that day they would host family parties for many families. Their Christmas parties were among the most beautiful that I had ever seen.

People were not drinking to access their could be 100 people there and it still felt warm. Their home was large and had a beautiful Christmas tree at least 15 foot tall. They were part of the Arts so their friends were there with equipment ,microphones and were singing.  The 3 sisters that would come would sing that Karen Carpenter song ” Merry Christmas Darling “,  and it was so beautiful. The whole group that was there were family based and many where from our church.

We often remember those gatherings so fondly.

It was at their home back in the summer of 1999 that my wife, myself and children were invited to an impromptu back yard cookout.

So, we were sitting there at the table on the deck, the kids were in the pool and another couple came in L and V. and joined us. During that time I said hey what’s that retreat thing you guys mentioned before? Within moments one of my friends L took off and returned with an application for Cursillo an incredible retreat encounter at a center in Methuen Ma . ST. Basils. My wife and I lived our Cursillo in Oct and Nov of that year. It was life changing.

You see, our friends H and P had heavy rain fall in their lives. They lived through what could have been a devastating loss, but it wasn’t. Because God’s got them. And they ADORE HIM.

Furthermore, P being a guy like me had feelings I am sure like I did, with this cancer that he too felt like he had failed his family. But you know, he never failed them nor did  his wife H. When the laws changed, they protected their patients and employees until they had given all they had.  P. and S. began the climb back up the mountain to see the sun again together. During this difficult time they displayed such courage. They grew their faith together and sponsored many for the retreat center. They represent Jesus Christ in action to so many. H. Started cleaning homes and became a real estate broker too. P  got a new  job in a medical field and if that were not enough  P then applied and was excepted into the deaconate and was vetted through the very difficult process of becoming a Roman Catholic Deacon. It was I believe a 5 year process. My wife and I were honored to attend p’s ordination at the Cathedral in Boston. The deaconate training was very tough and his wife H was part of the process too. But they shined as a couple and were excepted to serve God in this ministry. They see Victory and live it through God !

I will continue with this soon beautiful story  🙂  It gets ever better 🙂 Praise God !

 

To P and H  Love D and J 🙂

I Will Be Your Friend by Michael W. Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWfXLXdpfYg

God bless you,

Danny

little alterboy

21 Sunday Dec 2014

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I came upon this video which I had never seen before. Even the song was foreign to me. But it was interesting. Being an alterboy back in the day was quite an honor. I was for quite some time and was always nervous that I would mess up during mass. Which , I did often.

The carpenters little alterboy .

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=1lt87fGKaSA

God bless!

Christmas is next week 🙂

Michael Bouble
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=LNs7I9yrohU

Tammy Trent.

21 Sunday Dec 2014

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I went to bed last night did my evening prayers and while I laid in bed, I settled into my bed and was very comfortable. I heard the heat thermostat click and the bedroom begin to warm. I had a wonderful day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a small piece of cake.( My daughters boyfriends birthday) 🙂

Well, I had a busy night tossing and turning wrestling with my left hand clenching and then releasing. You see I am in the midst of my slow motion Miracle. My left side is healing and my left hand aggravates me to no end. So, I offer the claw up daily in prayer. Lol.  You have to laugh at life or you could start to cry. Life can be frustrating. Out of frustration I am learning perseverance.

So anyways, I hopped out of bed at 4:40am I came down to the docking station and turned on the television. It was a little early for my morning prayer and I thought I would just lay there and see what was going on in the news. Well I saw per usual very little good going on and hit the remote button and on came a program that I had never seen.

For the past number of months or so my heart and mind have been drawn to the suffering of my fellow man. Not that I had not been concerned  before but it is some how more in the front of my mind.I suspect God has his purpose for this. It’s one of those what can I do moments? I can do what I always do and send a little money. So, I guess this blog would be the only other thing at my disposal in this moment.

While I was sitting there this woman was highlighted in song and her story was high lighted in a program.

God Bless You, itis worth the watch.

Tammy Trent 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s_1-igoq4g

Tammy Trent

This is very touching

http://m.lightsource.com/ministry/life-today/guest-tammy-trent-216899.html

The Refuge Missions Trip to Tanzania, East Africa 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0sYgQqg3iY

 

My Question to this terrible situation. Starvation in this world,when will it end? This next song is from the 60’s and is comfronting yetanother social issue of that day. But this song can be used in this situation too. They are hanging in their waiting for a change. Please pray. Amen.

A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke, 1963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbO2_077ixs

 

God Bless You,

Danny